AndroidOS_HiddenAd.GCLA

Android users may often think that there is no way for potentially harmful software to get to the Google Play Store, but there have been more than a few cases in which this belief was proven to be wrong. One of the latest cases of potentially harmful apps being found on the Google Play Store dates to July 2019, and it involves nearly two hundred bogus games, camera-enhancement, and photo-editing tools that managed to accumulate nearly 10,000,000 downloads.
 
Thankfully, the bogus applications were not meant to deliver a high-profile threat such as a banking Trojan or Remote Access Trojan. Instead, their sole purpose was to deliver the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.GCLA adware that would bombard the compromised device with a constant stream of advertisements.
 

This Adware might Load Advertisements with Disturbing Content

The advertisements that the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.GCLA displays may contain adult content, fake services, fake downloads, and other dubious content that users should avoid at all costs. Unfortunately, the adware would not make it easy for the user to avoid its advertisements – it would show them in full-screen, therefore preventing the user from accessing their device's menus and features. Often, the user would have to sit through a good 1-2 minutes of advertisements before being able to access their other applications.
 
To make its removal more difficult, the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.GCLA would make its icon invisible, and also disguise itself in the 'Applications' section of the settings menu. All this is done with one thing in mind – to make its removal as difficult as possible. Thankfully, using a proper Android antivirus scanner should be enough to deal with the trouble that this malware causes.
 
While the Google Play Store was used to host the majority of the apps packed with the AndroidOS_HiddenAd.GCLA, a few samples also were found on alternative Android stores that are not that popular. Remember that you should only download applications from reputable services and locations, and also make sure to check the reviews & ratings of the apps as they may often tell you whether the download is safe or not.